The Royal Wedding
by Lady Discord
Summary: The arranged marriage between Prince Sogdian, oldest son of King Sharaman and Princess Yasmeen of Arabia.


The King had not expressed his desire for the wedding of his son to

take place as soon as possible in vain. The very next day he and King

Hamid had reunited, according to tradition, in the presence of two

witnesses, one from each side, and the High Priest serving in the

temple of Ahura Mazda, and signed the wedding contract. It was an act

through which the father of the groom asked for the hand of the bride

in marriage, on behalf of his son, and in return the father of the

bride gave his daughter away, accepting for her to become a member of

the groom's family.

Once the first step was completed, the bride's governess, Samah and

her handmaidens came to the princess' chambers to commence the

traditional procedures. Yasmeen was dressed in a simple robe, wearing

no jewelry and having her hair covered with a thick veil, only that

this time an extension of the veil fell over her face, down to her

collarbone, obscuring her face completely. The governess, a middle-

aged, corpulent woman with a dark complexion, dressed in colorful

robes walked in front along the palace corridors, followed closely by

Yasmeen, who was accompanied by six young girl, all dressed in plain,

blue, silk robes.

They walked like in a procession, two girls walking in front of

Yasmeen, throwing rose petals from a basket they carried at the

princess' feet, two walked beside her, holding each a white, lit

candle and the other two walking behind her, one of them carrying a

tray holding oils, perfumes and other bathing products while the other

one carried a folded yellow dress with a jewelry case on top of it and

a pair of golden sandals. When they reached the large bathing chamber,

even the governess could not help being impressed by the splendor of

the Persian architectural design, the carvings, the engravings, the

silk and flower ornaments, all beaming out in different shades, one

more enchanting than the other.

The women walked all the way to the large bathing pool and stopped

when Samah stopped. The girls holding the candles used them to light

the other candles spread across the margin of the pool, while Samah

turned to Yasmeen and removed her veil and her dress. She was then

told to step inside the pool and the two girls who had been holding

the candles proceeded to wash her, in which time the girls who had

been holding the flower baskets poured various oils into the water,

the oils that another girl had been carrying on a tray, as well as

rose petals.

When the bathing was completed, the girls with the baskets awaited for

Yasmeen to step out of the pool, each holding a large white towel of a

soft material. They dried her wet body and naked as she was, they led

her to a wooden, massage table, covered by a thick blanket as to avoid

the discomfort of having to lay one's naked body on a hard, wooden

surface. Without uttering a word, Samah took some perfumed cream,

containing clay as a main ingredient and stretched it against the

princess' skin, after which she vigorously began to massage her from

the neck down, all the way to her toes, even kneading her breast in

the process as a most common gesture, her expression remaining severe

and concentrated throughout the entire procedure.

The princess was then told to turn and lay on her stomach and after

the same massage was applied to her back side Samah came with a rough

cloth dipped in water to remove the hardened layer of clay that had

remained on Yasmeen's body, almost scratching her skin in the process.

A second bathing followed, meant to clean the body and prepare it for

the torture that was to follow, or so it was perceived by a young girl

experiencing it for the first time. Once again, Yasmeen was told to

lay completely naked on the massage table and Samah approached her

with a bowl containing a melted, warm paste of caramelized sugar. She

spread in turns the paste across various parts of Yasmeen's body, even

the most intimate ones, and despite the girl's screams of surprise and

pain, Samah continued to remove the consolidated streaks at a quick

pace until all unaesthetic hair had been removed from the princess'

body.

The now smoother skin of the princess was rubbed by two of the young

handmaidens with delicate oils and sprinkled with sweet perfumes. She

was dressed with the yellow dress, the golden sandals, her neck was

adorned with necklaces and her wrists and ankles with bracelets, both

of solid gold or of pearls. She was sited on a comfortable sofa and

four of the handmaidens worked with care to paint the traditional

patterns on her hands and feet using a pen-like instrument with a

small hole the size of a grain at one end of the tub filled with

henna.

Soon after the bathing ritual was completed, Gadwa entered the room

and approached her radiant looking daughter with a wide smile on her

lips. She stood next to her on the sofa and just admired her for a

long while, both happy and sad to see her daughter at the end of a

ritual that meant her fate had been more or less sealed. Yasmeen had

told her that she actually loved her husband and was looking forward

to her life as a married woman, but still Gadwa could not ban all

shadows of doubt and concert from her mind. Nonetheless, for the

moment she tried to smile and share the happiness of her daughter.

"Look at you, already looking like a woman and soon to become one. I

remember you used to dream about these wedding preparations all the

time when you were a little girl. How do you feel now, my daughter?"

The preparation were painstaking, each process almost meant to bound

the young woman to the life she was now looking forward to. She

fallowed each and every instruction to the letter, not disobeying

even though the rituals themselves almost drove her mad.

After the servants finished painting the traditional symbols on her

hands, she was dressed and adores with the most extravagant fabric

and the most beautiful of jewels. She sat down and waited patiently.

The door opened and her mother walked in, the saddens in her eyes

perceptibly masked by the fake smile that she forced herself to

portrait for her daughters' sake.

"Look at you, already looking like a woman and soon to become one. I

remember you used to dream about these wedding preparations all the

time when you were a little girl. How do you feel now, my daughter?"

She smiled while her mothers kind voice spoke softly to her. The

reassurance and the hope that escaped as she talked , only served to

calm her down and to ensure her that everything would be okay.

"Thank you mom…" she tilted her head forward in respect "Well to

tell you the truth I an a little anxious and a bit more scared about

…well everything " she smiled sincerely while she spoke "I really

hope that this would be a good thing for me, I can only hope that

everything he said and promised would turn out to be true" she

whispered to herself, almost afraid of the possibility that it all

could go trebly wrong ."But somehow …he seems trustworthy mom, his

voice is so calm ,and peaceful…I can't help but believe him " she

giggled

"If he is indeed as you say," Gadwa's face lit up and her tone became

cheerful, even superior, her attitude becoming that which once was

"then you will have no trouble having him wrapped around your little

finger. But for that you no longer have to be so naïve and fearful. I

will teach you how you must act and speak if you want your husband to

do your bidding and offer you a life both peaceful and plentiful.

Worry not my darling, one way or the other you will find your

happiness," the woman smirked as she tenderly caressed her daughter's

cheek. "I assume Samah has told you all you need to know about the

rituals that are to come and about your duties as a wife. Is there

anything that remained unclear to you or anything that you would like

to ask me?"

Yasmeen blushed nervously at her mothers comment, even if her

governess tried to give explanation to what exactly would go on, she

still felt s bit uncomfortable talking about it, conceivably it was

anxiety, lack of buoyancy or even fright.

She looked up at her mother with a sort of a half true smiled while

she tried to find her words for what she wanted to say.

"Samah was kind enough to proclaim the rules of marriage to me, my

duties and my part in the whole thing, as far as this goes I have no

problem with, but mother this sounds a lot like it is a one sided

advantage" she smirked while she looked over to her mother "It seems

to me that only the husband gets all the perks, and the wife is

there only to make them happen, this doesn't seem fair, now does

it ?" she asked with a bit of a giggle , trying her best not to

laugh to loudly

Her mother could not stop from laughing cheerfully at Yasmeen's

comment.

"A long time ago when I was in your position I too thought the same

but experience has taught me quite the contrary. You say this now

because you have not yet experienced the advantages you will benefit

from and trust me when I tell you they will be far more numerous than

those of your husband. If you think about it more carefully it is

actually him who is striving to please you in every way, while you

simply lay back, like the queen that you are and enjoy all that he has

to offer. He does seem to sincerely love you, even I have to admit

that and in such a case there should be no doubt in your mind that he

will do his best to pleasure you without asking for anything in

return. Nevertheless, it would be wise of you to return the favor. He

would enjoy it more than you think and secretly he does crave for it,

like all men do. But there is something you should know, especially

when it comes to men like him. He may appear mild and passive, but

beyond that he is a fierce warrior, a conqueror like all men of power

and as such he sees you too as a new conquest. But you must show him

that your treasures cannot be so easily reached. Always let him

believe that no matter how much he has discovered and possessed, there

is still much more to conquer."

She smiled while her cheeks blushed a bit as her mother talked to

her of such things, things that never wore discussed with her

before. She looked up a bit while a faint smiled curled her lips

from behind the veil that was covering her beautiful face.

"I think I know what you mean mother, even if I still have my doubts

about that "she giggled. "I'm sure he doesn't view me a trophy, a

prize, he seems so much more than that, I'm sure he is "she

whispered almost ting to make herself believe her own words, her own

promised.

Regardless of the feelings she had for him , she couldn't help but

feel that unforgiving fear that overtook her heart from the first

day she heard of this arrangement. All the questions, all the doubts

never fully left her mind .

"I hope that in the end everything will turn out the way that it's

meant to …" she smiled wile a bit of concern dampened her voice.

"For now you have nothing to fear my darling," Gadwa replied on her

usual proud and slightly arrogant tone. "You know enough to get you

pass your first days as a married woman. After that I or Samah, if I

will no longer be with you, shall teach you step by step all that you

have to do so that your marriage will be plentiful in every way. But

for now enjoy being an innocent, inexperienced girl, helpless even and

I mean that in a most serious way. Being a helpless woman does have

its advantages, especially when dealing with men. However, what you

really must be is a strong, independent woman pretending to be a

helpless, naïve girl for in this way you will be able to take

advantage of your man's weaknesses and use them to your advantage,

making him do your bidding without him even realizing it."

Two Persian female servants approached Gadwa and bowed their heads.

Knowing the purpose of their arrival, the queen nodded and stood up,

taking her daughter's hands into hers and helping her stand up as

well.

"Now it is time for you to greet your mother-in-law and receive the

gifts that she is to offer you according to tradition. Go with them

and I shall join you shortly, once I am properly dressed."

The two servants escorted the princess out of the bathing chambers and

led her down the corridor, taking a few turns until they reached two

beautiful carved wooden doors adorned with bronze models. They opened

the doors and entered before the princess in order to pull aside the

red, silk, transparent curtains that hang at about two feet in front

of the door, serving as a second doorway, thus allowing Yasmeen to

pass.

The room was almost as spacious as Yasmeen's bedchamber, if not a bit

smaller. Red, yellow and brow were the predominant colors whose

different shades adorned the curtains, walls, furniture and carpets.

In contrast to these three colors was the green of the plants and the

pale colors of the flowers, mostly white and pink. In the middle of

the room there was a traditional low table and around it, two

semicircular sofas carrying small and middle-sized decorative pillows,

each bearing customary oriental patterns.

As soon as Yasmeen entered the two women hurried to take their leave,

replying to her that her handmaidens will arrive soon when the

princess inquired with surprise how come she had been brought to an

empty room. Then the servants left and Yasmeen remained all by

herself.

Yasmeen fallowed the two young girls to the new room. They turned

around telling her that her chambermaids will arrive shortly. She

looked around the room , still a bit unsure of what was about to

happen next, but somehow the sent of the fragranced flowers calmed

her down, even if it was for a little while.

She walked up to the immense windows through which light enters,

worming up every single corner of the chamber. The curtains, a pale

shade of red and yellow, flickered in the faint breeze that blew

inside, she looked around the room more and more, trying to distract

her attention from her thought and worries.

She walked up the window and lost in the incredible view that

surrounded the palace. A foolish innocent found its way on her lips,

while she slipped more and more into her dreams. The perfect life

she dreamed of, the perfect man she wanted as her husband. Somehow

all of that wasn't so out of reach . He was indeed everything she

wanted, a love that was sparked in one night, a love that she wanted

to last forever.

The faint sound of a second, smaller door opening did not reach

Yasmeen's ears, mostly because the door was far from where she was

standing, obscured by a thick, velvet curtain. The sound of footsteps

approaching Yasmeen were again unnoticeable to her ears, for the one

causing them knew how to approach with caution and in utter silence.

Not when it was right behind her did Yasmeen sense the presence of the

uninvited guest that had snuck inside the room. A small, golden chest

was placed by the guest on a table next to which she was standing. The

sudden gesture obviously frightened the princess, taking her

completely by surprise and making her turn rapidly to face the person

standing behind her. Starring back into her beautiful black eyes, the

guest smiled softly.

"I hope this small token of my affection will please you. While I do

realize my presence here, in your company, is more than improper and

could even bring a punishment about me, I could not wait a day and a

half to see you and speak to you again. My mother, being as kind and

understanding as she always is, agreed to be my accomplice and

organized this encounter. I do hope you have not taken offence in my

having used deceit to reach you and I hope you will see it as a …

pleasant surprise," Sogdian's smile widened in a rather forceful

manner, not sure if his choice of words had been appropriate. What if

it had not been a pleasant surprise for her?

The aint footsteps came creeping up behind, she herd them , but

feared turning around. The noise got closer with each shift

the guest' made towards her, all of a sudden she herd a strident

movement coming from behind her and on impulse she twisted around .

There he was, staring into her eyes with his own.

"I hope this small token of my affection will please you. While I do

realize my presence here, in your company, is more than improper and

could even bring a punishment about me, I could not wait a day and a

half to see you and speak to you again. My mother, being as kind and

understanding as she always is, agreed to be my accomplice and

organized this encounter. I do hope you have not taken offence in my

having used deceit to reach you and I hope you will see it as a …

pleasant surprise," he smiled a bit unsure of her reaction

For a few seconds she stood there motionless, staring at him ,the

way he smiled and acted around her , trying to convince herself , to

make herself believe that it was indeed true .

He smiled grew wider as she took small steps towards him. She got up

close and stared deep into his eyes, that glitter of joy and love

never absent, not for a moment.

"Of course it is a pleasant surprise my love …" she whispered while

she leaned forward towards his lips "I missed you so …" she

continued while she placed her hand on his perfect face, pulling him

closer, while her lips glided over his "I couldn't stop thinking

about you ….all day " her words barely escaping in-between kisses .

"My love, I could not express in words how happy I am to hear you

speak such words, to see you so joyful and enthusiastic," he kept on

smiling looking at her as if she was a mirage, not believing that all

of it was real. "For a long time I had abandoned the hope of ever

finding true love. After years of sorrow it took less than an hour to

discover love for the first time. Now there is no doubt in my mind

that you are the woman I have always waited for," Sogdian put his arms

around her waist and pulled her close, responding with kisses before

with words. "Tomorrow at this hour you will be my wife and I give you

my word that all the promises I have made to you will not be forgotten

… my love," he added passionately and pulled her delicate body closer

to his, tracing his fingers along her lower back and enjoying once

more the taste of her full lips.

Yasmeen kissed him dearly , while he pulled her closer to him even

still "I love you to ,my love, more than words can say, even if I

cant tell you just how it is possible to fall in love on one day

this hard and with this much passion" she whispered close to his

lips, then pulled back just a little . "But you have to go, my

fathers guards are just outside the door, if they catch you here.. I

cant even speck of the consequences this would have on me …" she

trailed.

Sogdian gave her a deep kiss , just before he ,made his exit through

the secret passage way that he came in through . She smiled and sat

down on the couch that stood before her, awaiting the continuing of

the day.

She kept smiling at the thought of spending her life along his side,

his wife, the love of her life .

The much expected royal wedding, one that would designate the royal

couple that was to be one day on top of the hierarchical pyramid of

the Empire, was less than a day away and the preparations were in full

swing, servants and noblemen alike fussing about the palace, either

preparing the event or for the event. King Sharaman was the most

nervous and anxious of them all, yet the cause of his unrest was not a

pleasant one. Messengers had been dispatched, weeks before, all over

the kingdom to announce the nobility of the upcoming event and present

the invitation on behalf of the king but while the distant monarchs

did not hesitate to announce their participation, it was those of the

King's own family and entourage that had yet to send a response.

No response had come from Markug so far, Kyra had her share of

problems to deal with, he hadn't heard a word from Kian or his

youngest son ever since they had gone to battle and most intriguing,

Saiyn was nowhere to be found. All these misfortunate occurrences

disturbed the king greatly and clouded the joy that he should have

felt upon witnessing the long awaited marriage of his heir to the

throne. In contrast to this was King Hamid's exhilaration, to whom

such matters were of no concern, knowing that the ceremony would

undoubtedly take place despite the absence of a few personages. The

boundaries of his high-spirits reached beyond that for, unlike the

King, he was very well aware of the Prince's whereabouts and was not

going to let such an opportunity slip away.

Not too long ago, merely a few days before, General Thorak of the

Syrian army, foolishly pursuing General Sal'Eadeen, guided by his

pride instead of his reason, had been lured into a trap and remained

enclosed within a subterranean cavern, most likely leaving its

entrapper with the impression that he had been undoubtedly sent to his

death. Reality was however far from this impression, for the general

had eventually managed to find another way out of the underground

network of caves. Realizing that it would not be wise to return

defeated from a mission he had initiated without the knowledge of his

commander and king, Thorak and his men remained in the vicinity of the

Persian encampment, yet hidden from the eyes of the sentinels, until

the proper moment arrived for two of the Syrian soldiers to infiltrate

the camp and act as spies.

While one of them was caught and tortured to death, the other one

managed to escape with vital information. Upon questioning the

captured Syrian soldier, the Persians thought his purpose there was to

gather information that would aid Memnon in preparing another surprise

attack, or to sabotage their own plans, attempting to destroy them

from within. Little did they know that the two men were there only to

extract a piece of information as trivial as the Prince's current

location. Once Mmenon had been informed that the Prince left for the

hidden Egyptian temple whose position the Syrians had long discovered,

he had one of his spies operating within Babylon to give this

information to Hamid.

As much as he despised the Arabian King, Memnon knew he was still far

from victory and could not afford to take a wrong step that would

alert Hamid of his false commitment. Upon hearing the good news Hamid

was of course overjoyed and immediately sent word to his right-hand

man to gather the most skilled assassins serving under him and order

them to go in pursuit of the Prince and finish him once and for all.

The plan once devised and set into motion, there were still certain

issues that bothered Hamid. Beside the fact that he could not help

having certain doubts regarding the success of his assassins in

confronting the Prince, there was the newly arrived problem of General

Kyra Sal'Eadeen who, although a woman, had proved to be more skilled

and powerful in battle than most men alive. Even though King Hamid was

still skeptical in believing such nonsense as a woman fighting

alongside men and what was more, being good at it, he was too paranoid

not to pay heed to this newly arisen threat. Nevertheless, any option

of ridding himself of this threat escaped his mind at the moment.

The arrival of the eldest prince's wedding ceremony day was most

definitely best emphasized by the tripled number of guards patrolling

both outside and inside the city walls, as well as the numerous city

patrols striving to assure maximum security. Inside the palace there

was great noise and agitation, servants hurrying to prepare the last

arrangements, noblemen and women clad in silk, gold, silver and

precious gems from head to toe flocked in the grandiose, beautifully

adorned festivity hall, where the High Priest of Ahura Mazda waited

patiently for the King's permission to commence the ceremony.

King Sharaman and King Hamid entered through the main doors at the

same time, each followed by his own entourage. They advanced towards

the small flight of stairs in the back of the room, leading to a

platform upon which the priest stood. Both of them, together with

their parties, stood in their rightful place, Sharaman on the right

and Hamid on the left. While traditional Persian tunes played in the

background by the most skillful Persian musicians, all the

participants directed their gazes towards the large doors through

which Prince Sogdian stepped proudly, dressed in a white ceremonial

outfit with gold and silver trimmings, a red sash around his waist and

dark-brown boots in his feet. He walked with his head held high and

exposing a serious look on his face.

Sogdian stopped in front of a carpet made of a rich gold embroidered

fabric, placed in front of the flight of stairs. Upon the carpet

several items were placed for symbolical purposes. Foremost, a mirror

was placed in the middle and two candelabras (representing the bride

and groom and brightness in their future) one on either side of the

mirror. The mirror and two candelabras were symbols of light and fire,

two very important elements in the Zoroastrian culture. When the bride

was to enter the room she would have her veil covering her face. Once

the bride would sit beside the bridegroom she was to remove her veil

and the first thing that the bridegroom would see in the mirror should

be the reflection of his wife-to-be.

The following item placed was a tray of seven multi-colored herbs and

spices to guard the couple and their lives together against the evil

eye, witchcraft and to drive away evil spirits. The tray consisted of

seven elements in seven colors: Poppy Seeds (to break spells and

witchcraft), Wild Rice, Angelica, Salt (to blind the evil eye),

Nigella Seeds, Black Tea and Frankincense (to burn the evil spirits).

Then came a specially baked and decorated flatbread with blessing

written in calligraphy on it. The writing was usually with either

saffron, cinnamon, Nigella seeds, or glitters. This symbolized

prosperity for the feasts and for the couple's life thereafter. A

separate platter of this flat bread, feta cheese and fresh herbs were

also present to be shared with the guests after the ceremony, to bring

the new couple happiness and prosperity.

A basket of decorated eggs and a basket of decorated almonds, walnuts

and hazelnuts in the shell to symbolize fertility. A basket of

pomegranates and apples for a joyous future. Pomegranates were

considered heavenly fruits and apples symbolized the divine creation

of mankind. A cup of rose water extracted from special Persian roses,

"Gol-e Mohammadi" to perfume the air. A bowl made out of crystallized

sugar to sweeten life for the newly wed. A brazier holding burning

coals sprinkled with wild rue, a popular incense. Wild rue was used in

many Zoroastrian ceremonies, rituals and purification rites. It was

believed to keep the evil eye away and bring on plenty of health.

A bowl of gold coins representing wealth and prosperity. A prayer kit

was placed in the center to remind the couple of the importance of

prayer both at blissful times and times of hardship. This prayer kit

included a small rug and a strand of prayer beads. An assortment of

sweets and pastries to be shared with the guests after the ceremony.

The assortment usually included: Sugar coated almond strips, Baklava

(a sweet flaky Persian pastry), Mulberry-almond paste made in the

shape of mulberries, Rice-flour cookies, Chickpea-flour cookies,

Almond-flour cookies and Honey roasted almonds.

Soon after the groom had entered the bride followed, dressed in a long

white robe and having her face covered by a silk veil. She approached

with small steps and took her place on the groom's left side. In that

moment Gadwa stepped next to her daughter and removed the veil

covering Yasmeen's face. The couple kneeled in front of the carpet

bearing the numerous goods and directed their gaze towards the priest

that stood at the other end of the carpet.

After the preliminary blessings and a few words about the importance

of the institution of marriage, the priest waited for the approval of

the two witnesses, the father of the groom and that of the bride, each

standing next to them, so he could proceed with no objections. After

that he asked the mutual consent of the couple. First the groom was

asked if he wished to enter into the marriage contract. Then the bride

was asked the same question. Once the two had given their consent, the

priests read a few passages from the Holy Book, the Avesta, while two

noble women, relatives of the bride, held a silk shawl above the heads

of the kneeling bride and groom and the mother of the bride spread a

few grains of sugar above the shawl, symbolizing sweetness and

happiness.

Thus concluded the ceremony and once the shawl was removed from above

their heads the future king and queen stood up and started walking

slowly towards the main entrance, this time the husband holding the

hand of his wife. They walked in the throne room where a great number

of people were gathered down below the high balcony where the actual

throne was placed. King Sharaman addressed his people and announced

the name of his successor, while the people cheered gleefully. Then

the opposite ends of the social ladder separated once more, the royal

family and noble men heading for a great hall where the wedding feast

awaited while the simple people were escorted to the large square in

front of the palace doors where a separate festivity had been arranged

for them as well.


End file.
